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MattL.
Posts: 252 - Karma: 20
Hey guys I have another question,

Well my grandpa passed a few years back and we were cleaning out his house and we found his old camera gear! The cameras we found were a Minolta SR-7, Olympus Trip 35, 2 Polaroids, and my brother took one but i forget the name but it was too old school for me anyway. Well I hear people say like oh im getting into 35mm photography... so on that note my questions are:

1. What's so great about 35mm photography?

2.Is this something worth getting into?

3.Are any of these cameras good/decent? that i should actually use?

K+ for all answers, some more questions will probably pop in my head later and I'll just add 'em in.

Thanks guys for any help!



Aug 12 2011 7:38AM
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891

1. 35mm will you get you much better quality images than the normal dslr you can buy for $2000. I like film because it makes photography more of a thought process. You're limited to 36 exp, or 12 in the case of 120, meaning that every shot counts. You can't just spray and pray like most do with digital.

2. I enjoy it greatly. I have as much invested in my digital, as I do my film.

3. All film cameras are going to be decent. They're all basically the same. Purely mechanical workings, put the film in, wind, and shoot. Film camera choices really come down to shooting style preferences. If you want to shoot primarily slr, medium format, polaroid, or rangefinder.

Aug 12 2011 8:23AM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
A film camera body is just a black box that opens and closes. Nothing special there. Lenses and film stock have a bigger impact.

also about film vs digital: whichever you are better at using will get you better results. Having said that, film is far more difficult to master, and if you're one of the few who are able to squeeze every last drop of quality out of film, film's potential far surpasses that of digital.

But keep in mind, utilizing the benefits of film is also very spendy.
Aug 12 2011 3:34PM
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891
Not really. Decent film cameras can be had for $50, and then you pay for film. While anything comparable in the realm of quality will be at least $1k+.
Aug 12 2011 4:43PM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
Digital cameras pay for themselves quickly. Film cameras cost money just to operate, and if you do it enough, you will easily surpass the price of a digital camera just paying for film/darkroom supplies.
Aug 12 2011 4:58PM
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891
I agree that film costs money to operate. But digital cameras don't really pay themselves off. In two years, your digital camera you purchased for $4k, will now only be worth $2.5K. In two years when you sell off your film camera, you'll get back exactly what you paid for it.
Aug 12 2011 7:21PM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
Right, but how well it holds its value is a different matter than being able to pay it off, and if you are like most people and freelance with, say a 5D mkII, paying it off is definitely attainable assuming you're getting work with it.

No doubt film equipment has more longevity, I'm just saying that just because the bodies are cheap doesn't mean film is cheap.
Aug 12 2011 7:36PM
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891
Agreed. But in the OP's context, I don't believe he was looking to take his photography to profitability.
Aug 12 2011 8:20PM
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MattL.
Posts: 252 - Karma: 20
hey guys so how should i go about making my 35mm a really good camera?
Aug 12 2011 9:22PM
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891
What do you mean "make?"
Aug 12 2011 10:15PM
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MattL.
Posts: 252 - Karma: 20
Well lol I'm not really sure... I guess my question is... What should I do/buy to make/have my camera be worthy of taking good quality stills of skiing that would be worth keeping? And also how do you get film pictures online? scanner? thanks guys K+ for responses
Aug 13 2011 7:26AM
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